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(Kitco News) Gold fell after recently released data showed U.S. long-term factory product orders rose 0.2% in December from forecast 0.9 %.
Meanwhile, the November data was revised upwards to 1.2%.
Following the launch, gold prices fell with Comex’s latest gold futures quotes at $ 1,843.70, up 0.60% on the day.
The monthly increase in durable goods orders amounted to $ 0.4 billion and was mainly led by items related to machinery.
The basic durable goods section, which excludes the volatile transport sector, rose 0.7% in December, exceeding expectations. Without defense, new orders advanced 0.5%.
The government durable goods report covers items with an expected life of at least three years, such as kitchen appliances, computers, furniture, cars and airplanes.
While spending on durable goods accounts for a small portion of U.S. economic output, economists look closely at any change as a sign of where the economy is headed.
Analyzing the December report, analysts said the details were more encouraging than the headline number.
“Weakness was concentrated in the volatile transportation component which showed orders fell 1.0%,” said Katherine Judge, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets. The largest group of basic capital goods (defenseless, anti-aircraft), an indicator of business investment in equipment, recorded a growth of 17.5% in shipments in annualized terms during the fourth quarter, which suggests that business investment will contribute fourth quarter GDP report tomorrow. The advance in orders from this group, which increased by 20% annualized during the fourth quarter, is a positive indicator of capital expenditure in early 2021, as the goods-producing sectors are expected to continue to be resistant in the middle of the second wave ”.
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